What do the proposed parents look like? I'd say try to find the best pair you can, even if you're just trying it out. I'm starting out with orange HMs, and I feel a lot better about breeding because I know it will be easier to find good homes for my fry than it would be if I had started with petshop veiltails. (my first spawn is 6 weeks old today ) I spent $18 on my male, and $16 on my female, and I was very lucky to find such good fish for such a low price.